Letters From Iwo Jima (HD DVD And DVD Combo)

Every purchase you make through these Amazon links supports DVD Verdict's reviewing efforts. Thank you!

All Rise...

Judge Dennis Prince has determined there is no suitable quip to pin on this remarkably balanced motion picture.

The Charge

Every historical conflict has two distinct perspectives.

Opening Statement

Although Director Clint Eastwood's bookend to Flags of Our Fathers
came about almost accidentally and in decidedly hurried fashion, this Letters from Iwo Jima reveals far more
than a desire to merely compete in the 2007 Oscar race. While filming
Flags, Eastwood

Facts of the Case

As the conflict between Japan and US progresses, the outlook is not looking
good for the Japanese military. The US forces have been successful in their
campaign to secure several smaller islands surrounding Japan and are now
readying to claim Iwo Jima, a small volcanic island that is strategically
imperative as a US staging point for larger scale attacks on the Japanese
mainland. The Japanese military recognizes that Iwo Jima will be its last stand
in hopefully thwarting the US advance but hope is all that remains, and very
little of it. General Tadamishi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai) has been dispatched
to enforce the army's military plan yet he dispenses with the recommendation to
buttress the beachfront, electing instead to command the troops to develop an
intricate maze of subterranean tunnels. But Kuribayashi is not deluded by
visions of grand victory, knowing he is significantly outnumbered in this
standoff and severely lacking in reinforcements from the Japanese ground troops
and Air Force. Despite his doubt, he leads his troops in preparation while
writing letters home about his exploits and as a record of his potentially final
days. Among his troops is the reluctant baker, Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya),
forcefully enlisted into this losing endeavor and brutalized by the ranking
Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), a man who believes this to be a glorious
undertaking certain to canonize him as a hero. But, in the end, the mood is
doubtful and the inevitability of the outcome pains the troops and their leader
and they nonetheless march forward in service of the Emperor.

We soldiers dig. We dig all day. This is the hole that we will fight and die
in. Am I digging my own grave?

The Evidence

As I watched Letters from Iwo
Jima and witnessed the arguably insubordinate attitudes being presented from
the Japanese soldiers, I expected this would become a picture to be derided from
the very honorable and dedicated Japanese culture. Apparently, the Japanese have
also held this film in very high regard, appreciating its honest approach and
its real yet respectful delivery of the message that Iwo Jima was a fruitless
endeavor by the Japanese military. Indeed, it is difficult to witness the
futility of the stand to defend the tiny volcanic island, that deemed a
significant staging point for the US attack against the Japanese mainland. The
Japanese contingent was certainly under-trained, under-fortified, and certainly
to be outmatched. The sadness of it all is that we see Saigo and his comrades
caught in the middle of a cultural quagmire—the Japanese way of bushido
did not account for such situations and was clearly outdated in this moment of
"modern" warfare. While there was little denying the soldiers were
proud and honorable, they were also wise enough to recognize their inevitable
march to death in this clash against the surging US forces. To that end, the
script from first-timer Iris Yamashita is absolutely compelling if not
heartbreaking in the way it presents each soldier, each leader, and each family
member left behind in detailed strokes of pain amid pride. Although the film
runs a lengthy 140 minutes, it's the sort of drama that commands your attention
immediately and keeps you properly attentive for the duration.

Technically, Letters from Iwo Jima poses a bit of a dilemma on this
new HD DVD / DVD Combo disc. The good news is, because of the combo treatment,
we're able to immediately compare the two formats to determine if HD DVD is all
it's trumped up to be and, without question, it outpaces its SD ancestry. The
details truly permeate this high-definition master and subsequently make the SD
alternative look soft (some HD adopters claiming they see "halos" in
the SD master when comparing to the HD version; I didn't notice anything
significant when I ran my comparisons). The challenge, though, comes when you're
expecting that usual HD "pop" where vivid colors and silky smooth
gradients deliver 3D-like image quality; not so on this disc. The production
design of the film, intentionally muted, washed out, and speckled with imposed
film grain, prevents this feature from achieving the "HD effect."
Nevertheless, this shouldn't be construed as being problematic on this disc nor
giving any argument that such "period pieces" aren't deserving of a
high-def delivery. The fact is that the image quality here, riding on the
aforementioned improved detail, gives Letters from Iwo Jima a decidedly
gritty feel that is perfectly appropriate to the picture, especially the many
subterranean sequences. The color palette is hamstringed but the vividness of
detail certainly adds to the overall viewing experience. The transfer itself,
incidentally, is mastered using the 1080p / VC-1 codec and framed at an aspect
ratio of 2.40:1.

On the audio side, the Dolby TrueHD track is excellent if not, again,
intentionally understated. Since the film centers solidly on character
development and less on depictions of warfare, you won't be rocked and rumbled
during a viewing. Granted, your surrounds and low-end channel will roar to life
during the few explosive moments but otherwise this is a subdued and subtle mix
yet is manages to eke out every little aural detail that contributes admirably
to the overall texture of the film.

As for extras, you'll be pleased to find all of the extras delivered on the
two-disc SD special edition are on board in this release, two of which are
presented in high-definition here. First is Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making
of Letters from Iwo Jima, the 21-minute featurette that explores the
development of the film with plenty of insight from Eastwood. Also in HD here is
the 18-minute Faces of Combat: The Cast of Letters from Iwo Jima. The
remainder of the extras, the three-minute photo montage, Images from the
Front Lines, the World Premiere footage, and the widescreen
theatrical trailer are all presented in SD format. Even so, the fact that this
disc includes the full complement of extras as found on the special edition disc
and coupled with the fact that two of the bonus features, not to mention the
feature film itself, are presented in HD make this a very wise investment.

Closing Statement

Without a doubt, Letters from Iwo
Jima is a somber and even sobering experience in its portrayal of the
"other side" of the historic battle. There's little point in
attempting to determine which side deserved what from this conflict as many have
already made up their minds. But the true value of this intense character-driven
drama is the opportunity we're given to look inside the minds and hearts of the
"enemy" only to learn that he is not so very different than we and,
when the rhetoric is stripped away and the military-fueled froth has subsided,
we come face to face with another human being as we each struggle to determine
the purpose of the warfare of the moment.

I don't know anything about the enemy. I thought all Americans were cowards.
I was taught they were savages.

The Verdict

Not guilty.

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Letters From Iwo Jima (HD DVD And DVD Combo) a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.

Distinguishing Marks

• Featurette: Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima
• Featurette: The Faces of Combat: The Cast of Letters from Iwo Jima
• The World Premiere
• The Tokyo Press Conference
• Images from the Frontlines: The Photography of Letters from Iwo Jima
• Theatrical Trailer